Snow Gray
by xxlaura1004xx
Summary: In the Kingdom of Ice, Prince Gray tries desperately to surpass his step-sister Ultear, The Queen, in power. But when he achieves his goal The Queen unveils an evil plot to take his life. Fairy Tail Twist To 'Snow White'- By Matt


_This took way to long! I'm not sure if I like how it turned out in the end but i hope its good enough to give us a chance :)_

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Part 1

Long ago in a country where it snowed all year round there was a magical kingdom. Every person from the commoners to the King himself used ice magic in someway and the land was given the name 'The Kingdom of Ice'.

The King was fair and just which made him respected by the people. His wife, the Queen, was know far and wide for her beauty. Under their rule the kingdom flourished and the only thing that could possible make the royal couple happier was to be blessed with a child.

Finally their dream came true, but at a cost. The Queen gave birth to a son but at the cost of her own life. The entire kingdom morned the loss of the Queen and the sky itself seemed to feel the same sorrow, for it was covered with clouds that blocked the sun from touching the snow covered ground. The grieving King saw this and decided to give his son the name of 'Gray' because it matched the color of the snow on the day of his birth.

Although his heart was still broken, the king knew that his kingdom needed a Queen and his son needed a mother. It was decided that the women who was the strongest ice magic user in the land would be his bride. A tournament was held and a women by the name of Ur was the victory.

Upon meeting her and seeing that she was more then just a powerful wielder of the ice the King instantly feel in love. This made Ur happy but she also felt guilty because she still had not told the entire truth about her life.

"My King, I have not yet told you that I have a daughter of the age of three. Surly you no longer desire me?" She explained sadly.

"Nonsense my beloved!" The King proclaimed. "I shall except your daughter as Princess of my kingdom!"

Overjoyed with happiness, Ur agreed to marry the King and she and her daughter, by the name of Ultear, were now members of the royal family. The new Queen and the King ruled over the Ice Kingdom together and once a again the land and the King were in a state of happiness.

Years went by and the the young Prince and Princess grew into the pride of the kingdom with both of them becoming powerful ice magic users. They both loved the Queen as well and she loved them both equally in return. This made the Princess start to feel jealously towards her step-brother, but she kept it to herself.

One day when the Prince was at the age of ten, the land would face its darkest hour. The evil monster known as Deloria attacked the Kingdom of ice. With the fate of all of his homeland's people at stake the King faced the beast himself.

The battle raged on for hours and although he fought with all of his strength the King eventually lost his life. The Queen, who had been guarding the the Prince and Princess, now knew what was needed of her. Both young Ultear and Gray watched as the Queen used the power of 'Iced Shell' to stop the monster by giving her own life.

"Do not fear my children." she told them as she started to disappear "My love for you both will never fade away. I shall always be with you"

With that the Queen lost her life but saved the kingdom. Once again the the kingdom was stricken with saddens, but all the people of the land knew that they had been given a gift, and they were grateful both Princess Ultear and Prince Gray were spared.

A few years later once the main city of the kingdom was rebuilt , at the age of fifteen Ultear was named Queen and the new ruler of the land.

Part 2

The passage of time continued and Gray and Ultear both became powerful Ice Magic users. It was unquestioned that they were the two most powerful in the land. However the Queen always bested her step-brother in terms of ability and her enjoyment of this fact was very will known.

"I'm still your superior in every way brother!" She would proclaim after every time she defeated him in a training duel.

Unknown to most of her people she had acquired a very rare magical item. It was a mirror that she hung in a secret place in her bedroom. This mirror had the power to tell its user the answer to any question it was asked and it would always answer truthfully. The Queen used the mirror to help her run the kingdom but its use that she found most important was to tell her that she remained the stronger then her step-brother.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall whose the strongest wielder of ice of them all?" she would ask the magical object everyday.

A large face would appear in the mirror and answer her question every time the same.

"_Strong wielders of ice there are a few, but no one in Ice Kingdom is a strong as you."_

This made the young Queen smile from ear to ear every time she heard it. Even though the mirror always told her the answer her ears wanted to hear, she still held hatred in her heart for step-brother, and this made her lust for more power.

Prince Gray also wanted to become more powerful but he did so with out carrying hatred in his heart. His only desire was to become powerful enough to protect the kingdom of his birth and he knew that his step-sister was the strongest in land. Therefore he made it his goal to surpass her so that he could one day protect her and all of Ice Kingdom.

Eventually the Queen stopped seeing the Prince as a threat to her title of strongest. She denied his request to face her in training battles and she stopped asking the mirror about the matter, even thought she enjoyed it so. The young Prince continued to work hard however, and by the time of his eighteenth birthday he felt as though his time to be declared the strongest had come.

"Sister..." He spoke to the Queen one evening. "I challenge thy to a training duel at the break of dawn."

This amused the Queen for surely nothing had changed between them.

"Very well, but if you are defeated, you shall never again ask this request of me." she told him coldly. The Prince agreed and the arrangements were made for tomorrow.

That night while the Queen was alone in her chambers her curiosity got the better of her and she decided to use the mirror once more. She brought the mirror out form its hiding place and placed it on the wall. The familiar large emotionless face appeared before her eyes and her excitement to hear the words to so loved to hear it say rushed to her heart and mind.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall whose the strongest wielder of ice of them all?" She asked .

"_Strong wielders of ice there are a few, the strongest is Prince Gray who has earned his due."_

This shocked in the Queen and filled her with anger. She walked over to the mirror and glared at it.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall whose the strongest wielder of ice of them all?" She asked it once more in a rage.

"_I know the words you want me to say, but I can not lie the strongest is now Prince Gray"_

Part 3

That night the Queen did not sleep in the slightest. Her mind was busy crafting a plan to somehow best her step-brother. She still could barely believe that he had surpassed her but she knew the mirror could not lie. It was decided that she couldn't simply face him in battle the next morning like they had agreed, because losing in front of the whole Kingdom would bring her unbearable shame.

But among many things, the Queen was clever ,and soon she had a plan that she so evilly thought would put an end to the Prince's life and therefore make her the strongest once more.

Surly she couldn't leave even the possibility that she hand a hand in his demise. Then as if her evil intent had called upon her most evil of thoughts an idea and began to form in her mind.

That morning before the break of dawn to his surprise Gray was summoned to the throne room to be addressed by the Queen.

"Sister, what is that you wish of me?" He asked once he had arrived.

"My brother, I have recently found out troubling news..." Ultear explained in a fearful voice. This caught the Prince off guard because he so rarely heard her speak in such a way. "...Our enemies, the Kingdom to the East, have sent several of their most powerful knights on a path to attack our home. Normally I would send our own soldiers to confront them, but as you know, after the attack of Deliora our citizens prefer that we keep our military strength close to home so that they feel more protected. And many of our soldiers are already waiting guard at other points around our borders..." The Queen paused as if the next part of what she needed to say would be difficult.

"I wouldn't normally ask this of you Brother, but I believe that with your strength that you will be able to protect our Kingdom by yourself, and defeat the attackers." she said softly.

This filled the young Prince with pride fore it was the first time that his step-sister had ever acknowledged his strength. Not only this, but to be trusted with a task of such importance made fill such pride. His responses was immediate and passionate.

"If it is your wish then I shall meet our enemies in battle and protect our homeland sister!" he proclaimed.

"Then you shall leave as soon as possible, I'll order the proper preparations to be made" the Queen told him happily and hide an evil smile from his view.

Within the hour Prince Gray was at the gate of the city. The sun was just beginning to rise and small amount of the Kingdom's people were gathered to see the young Prince off. The Queen herself was among them and the two siblings decided to exchange a quick goodbye.

"I'm off to protect the land our parents gave their lives to save Sister." he said confidently.

"I know you shall do them proud..." at this moment The Queen felt a sting of regret, but the jealous and anger in her heart out weighed it. "Good bye, Brother"

The young man nodded and mounted a white horse that was waiting at his side. He waved to the small crowd and a cheer came from the people. With eagerness and the desire to protect beating in his heart Gray galloped passed the stone gates of the city and headed to the East.

"Good bye, Brother..." Ultear said once more in a whispering voice only she could hear.

Part 4

In two days of travel the the Prince had reached his destination. Having only stopped to gain his strength, his body was heavy with fatigue, but he knew that would not stop him.

The place he was told he must wait at was an entrance to a dark forest. He knew it had earned its name well, because even though it was the middle of the day, the forest and the path leading to it seemed as though it was the middle of the night.

After sending his horse to a near by field to graze,, he found a larger then normal tree to hide behind as he waited for his enemies to make their arrival. Mere moments after he had arrived it started to rain. Unknown to him he was not alone. For waiting for him in the forest was an assassin of the deadliest kind.

Dark blue haired circled her beautiful face. She carried an umbrella in her hand and a look of neutrality on her face. She came from a near by kingdom, one where the people were masters of water instead of ice. She had become known as Juvia Of The Rain. She had watched the Prince arrive but did not get a very good look at him, this wasn't necessary for her mission however, all that was asked of her was to take his life.

Using her magically ability she effortlessly turned her body to water and moved about the ground until she was directly behind Prince Gray. She silently rematerialized her body and pulled a sharped blade from her a hidden spot on her side and slowly approached him.

Having now sensed the presence of another person close to him the Prince made himself ready for an attack.

The water master took a small breath and in a quick movement lunged with her blade at the young man. In an instant the Prince turned and block her attack with an ice sword that took him less then a second to create.

Now face to face the water master could see him clearly for the first time. Her face darked and her heart raced. In one look she had fallen completely in love with him!

"I see that you were already here, but that won't stop me from stopping you and your comrades!" Gray proclaimed in anger.

The blue haired women simply started at him, unable to speak. Her thoughts were betraying her. She had been sent here to kill this man, but her heart simply would not allow it. She already loved him to much. Now knowing what she must do she stepped back and throw her weapon to the ground. Then she bowed her head.

"Please forgive me! I no longer wish to cause you harm!" she shouted.

This surprised Prince Gray but he felt something genuine in her voice. "Explain thy self."

"I am an assassin who was hired to take your life, but I longer desire to continue I this venture." she continued while keeping her head down. She could barely look at him without feeling her heart melt.

"Who hired thy?" he asked.

The women of the rain hesitated before saying. '"The Queen of the Ice Kingdom"

This shocked the Prince beyond his belief. At first he wanted to angrily deny her accusation but then his rationale mind took over. He knew better then most that his Sister was capably of having dark intentions. He also knew that she was the one that sent him here and that very few people of the Kingdom knew what his destination would be. It broke his heart to admit it but he knew it to be true.

The Queen wanted his life.

He allowed the sword in his hand to break apart and spoke in a saddened voice. "I see..."

Struck with grief and anger he remained still until Juvia looked and spoke once more. "You must flee! I am not the only one that has been sent to take your life. Other will arrive soon. While I'm sure you are strong you will have no chance against all of them in one battle. The only direction that none of them will come from is the Dark Forest."

Hearing this gave the Prince back his resolve. He knew that he must return to his home and confront his Sister and if necessary take her off the throne.

"What is thy name?" he asked her with confidence returning to his voice.

"J-juvia my lord" she responded having finally found the courage to look him in the face once more.

"I shall remember it. You have my thanks. I bid you farewell Juvia" he told her and placed his hand on her shoulder before walking past her.

Having been touched by the one that held her heart made her lose conciseness and she slowly passed out on the ground with a look of happiness on her face. The Prince thought this was rather strange, but after he made sure she was unharmed he made his way quickly towards the forest.

Not being sure where his attackers were coming from he decided to continue his journey on foot and did not retrieve his horse. It would return to their home on its own any way.

So the Prince made his way confidently into the forest. Knowing that the greatest battle of this life was ahead of him.

Part 5

Strange noises and darkness surrounded him as he rapidly made his way down the path. His plan being to get through the forest so he could make his way back to his Kingdom. He was prepared for any sort of danger ahead of him but he was not ready for the humid heat he was currently locked in.

Having been born and raised in a land that was almost always cold the young Prince did not enjoy the warmth and as a result all of the clothing that had been on his upper body was now being held in a bundle in his left hand.

He kept his eyes moving from side to side making sure nothing caught him off guard, but he did not pay much attention to what was in front of him and that meant he did not see the patch of spiky pink hair in his way until it was to late.

Gray collided with something and knocked them both to the ground with an unpleasant thump.

"Watch where ya goin'!" he heard a rough child like voice yell at him. Looking to the ground next to him he saw a young boy roughly the age of ten rubbing his head. The boy wore dirty and ripped clothes except for a scarf that looked like scales that was rapped around his neck.

"My apologies..." The Prince said and stood up. He then extended his hand only to receive a look of anger and distrust.

"What are you? Some kind of pervert running around half naked?" the boy yelled and jumped to his feet.

"I assure you I am not..." Gray told him and held back his anger.

"Natsu! Are you alright?" They both heard a voice call. This one was also child like but it was clear it belonged to a girl. The two of them turned to the direction the noise came from. Out of the brush came a young girl about the same age as the boy with blonde hair and blue tie that held her hair in place.

Footsteps could be heard from behind her and it didn't take long for the Prince to realize that there were many children here.

One was a girl with brown hair that ran past her ears. Another was boy with long black hair and an angry look on his face. The last three all had the same white hair, there were two girls one with long hair and one with short hair, and a boy that was the tallest one of them all. Each on seemed to be fairly close in age.

"I'm fine. This pervert just ran into me is all" the boy he now knew to be named Natsu told the others.

"I already explained that I am not..." Gray told him in frustration. He concluded that he no longer desired to be there, but he couldn't simply leave.

"Where are thy parents?" he asked looking at them all. Natsu crossed his arms and turned away as if he refused to say another word. They others looked at their feet and tried not to look at him. It felt as though he had said something he shouldn't.

"Um...well.." the blonde girl tried to say.

"We don't have any." The black haired boy said bluntly.

It then accrued to the Prince that these children must all be orphanages that had banned together and decided to live together in the forest. His heart went out to them but he did not know what help he could give him. Besides that he had a goal to accomplish, but on the other hand he knew the Queen would believe him to be dead, and the longer he waited to show that he was indeed alive the more comfortable and unprepared she would be for his arrival. He then decided that he could afford to help these children for the time being.

"Show me where thy live" he told them all.

Meanwhile back in the Ice Kingdom. Queen Ultear was happily walking back to her bed chambers. Having no doubt that her Brother had by now perished she longed to hear those words that she so loved to hear the mirror say. She reached her room,removed the mirror from its hiding spot, and placed it on the wall.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall whose the strongest wielder of ice of them all?" she said in a voice as smooth as any person had ever heard.

"_Strong wielders of ice there are a few, the strongest is Prince Gray who is still more powerful then you." _

Her happiness turned to rage in an instant. He was still alive her assassins had failed her! She would see to it that they would be punished greatly for not being able to uphold their oath, but first she needed to know where the Prince was.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall show me where Prince Gray is after all!" she yelled.

The face disappeared in a whirl wind of smoke to revival a small crudely made wooden cabin that was siting in the middle of a clearing. Light filled the clearing, but the forest around it were as dark as night.

"The Dark Forest...of course. That is near where I sent him..." she thought out loud to herself.

Having failed in her first attempt dishearten her but the Queen was not about to give up. Surely her the Prince would try to return and if he could prove that she tried to have him killed it could mean the end of her rain as Queen. This made her being to think of yet another plan, this one much more subtle, but still as dark and devious as before.

"I think I'll pay dear brother a visit. I do miss him so..." she said softly.

Part 6

At first the children were hesitant to allow an outsider to see where they lived. Having been abandoned by all other people and only having to rely on each other made trusting the young Prince a difficult task to undertake. But they decided he could be trusted despite their unconventional meeting and now they were leading him to the clearing in the forest that their home rested in.

After walking past the the large trees that surround the clearing Gray saw a rough looking but sturdy wooden cabin standing confidently surrounded by grass on all sides.

"We made it ourselves" said the blonde haired girl he now knew to be named Lucy.

"It ain't much but its all we have" Natsu added.

The children then showed him the inside of their home. It matched the outside in that it wasn't much to look at but it was well lived in. It had a \small kitchen and table with seven chairs around it. A fire place with a small rug in front of it and seven beds tucked away to one side of the fairly large room. Having been raised for most of his life as a royal in a castle the Prince was not use to seeing a home like this, but that did not make him feel less impressed at what these young children could create on their own.

Once the tour was over Gray addressed them all "If thy would not object, I believe I would like to stay here for a short time"

"Don't expect to just bum off of us for what ever you want!" the black haired boy named Gajeel hissed.

"I assure thy, I shall earn my keep." Gray told him.

"I think it could be fun having someone else around" The oldest of the three white haired siblings added in his defense. "You can call me Mirajane" she told him with a smile.

The others, not including Natsu and Gajeel agreed, and so it was decided that he would stay with them for as long as he wished. The young man said nothing of what he had to accomplish after he left but instead thanked them all graciously.

For the next few days the Prince lived with the seven children of the Dark Forest. True to his word he helped them clean, gather food, and cook all the time he was there. He also showed them his magical ability to control ice. This amazed the children for none of them had seen such a thing and it didn't take long for all of them to beg him to teach them. So after all the chorus were done for the day the Prince would teach. Although he explained using ice magic in such a humid and warm place wouldn't be as strong an ability, all of the children eagerly wanted to learn more. Soon enough all of them could create basic shapes made of ice. By the time a week had passed, all of the children now excepted and cared for their newest friend.

Then on the eight day since his arrival their was a knock on the wooden door.

It was a strange occurrences for any person to be in the Dark Forest, and it was stranger that they would find the wooden cabin as well. Gray knew that he should answer it to insure the other safety. So slowly and carefully he opened the door to relieve. An old man wearing red mask that covered the top half of his face. The mask had four horns coming out of it on each corner of it as well. He was short and hunched over which resulted in his face barely reaching the young mans chest.

"Pardon my intrusion, but I am a traveler wondering through this forest, and I was hoping you would kindly buy an apple or two from this old man." he said in shaky voice and gestured to the brown basket in his hand that was filled with red and green apples.

"We have all of the food we need but please take this..." the Prince told him and handed him an hand full of coins that he had bought with him for his journey.

"Thank you kindly good sir, but please take at least one apple and taste it for me. I wonder if the they are of a desirable taste and I haven't enough teeth to eat it myself you see..." the old man said and extended and wrinkle covered hand to the Prince.

Gray was hesitant to except the offer. For now he was suspicious of the old man intentions. He knew that his Sister, the Queen, was also a master at transforming magic and that this seemingly weak old man could be her in disguise.

"Surely thy can handle at least half an apple. I shall split one with you if you like." The prince said back to him.

"That seems reasonable..." the old man agreed and Gray swiftly cut the apple in two with a knife that he kept on his side. Then he handed on half back to the man and brought his half to his lips. The two men watched each other as the each took a bite.

Instantly the Prince knew he had made a mistake as his eyes suddenly became hard to keep. His body also became heavy and he grabbed the edge of the door to try to keep himself from falling.

The old man started to laugh a loud and boastful laugh that echoed through out the the clearing. Suddenly it changed from the laugh of an old man to a young women and through his dazed eyes Gray recognized the face of the Queen.

"S-sister?" the Prince struggled to say before falling to his knees.

"I knew you were to clever to be fooled that easily Brother! So I drank the antidote to the poison before arriving here!" she proclaimed and looked down upon him. The children all came rushing out of them home just in time to stop the Prince from falling to the ground but he had lost consciousness

"Finally it is done. It may not take his life, but I assure you he shall never awake!" she told them all before vanishing into a cloud of smoke.

The seven children all surrounded Gray and tried to wake him.. They tried every method they could think of and yet nothing they tried could wake him from his sleep. His heart was still beating and he still took breath but it truly seemed as though he had passed from this world.

Filled with sadness and not knowing what else to do they decided to have a funeral for the Prince. But they did not wish to bury because of the chance of him awakening once more. Using the ice magic they had been taught they created a glass like case to hold his body in so that he would remain unharmed but so that they could also keep watch if he were to wake again. They placed the case on two wooden , because it was all they could spear , keep it from resting on the ground. It was decided that one of them would keep watch over it always to insure that if it started to melt that they could rebuild it.

And so the Prince rested in his coffin of ice waiting to be woken from his slumber.

Part 7

Days past, and nothing changed, but soon the the forest would have another visitor. She was a young women wearing armor with hair of scarlet and she was as beautiful a women to ever dare to enter the Dark Forest. Her name was Erza and she came from a kingdom in the West. She was currently on an important mission that was going to take her far away from her home and the quickest way to reach her goal was by going through the forest. Even most men dared not to enter alone, but her bravery was as strong as her armor and she had no though of fear as she made her way steadily through.

The young knight noticed that the darkness of the forest seemed to be getting weaker as she got closer to a small clearing. She emerged from the tree line and saw a small wooden cabin in the middle and she also saw something she couldn't quite see properly. The object seemed fairly large and it reflected the sun light. Out of curiosity she decided to investigate what it was and she moved cautiously towards it.

When she got close enough to see what it was she couldn't believe her eyes. Their lying in glass like case was an young man roughly her age. His hands were crossed at his midsection and he was completely still. At first she thought he was dead, but once she got closer she noticed the slow and steady rise and fall of his chest signify that he was still breathing. She also recognized the clothing he was wearing as the type that royals from the Kingdom of Ice wore. This only fathered her confusions as to why some like him was in this situation. The scarlet haired young women placed her hand on the case and noticed that it felt cold. It was made of ice, that confirmed he was from the Ice Kingdom.

"W-who are you?" she heard a small voice ask.

Being cautious by nature she instantly sent her hand to her sword which was on her side and looked up to she a small girl with short white hair standing on the other side of the case. After seeing that she wasn't in danger she removed her hand from her weapon and stepped back.

"I am called Erza." she explained. '"Tell me, do you know what has happened to this man?"

"Y-yes, he was our friend, but an evil witch used a spell on him and he fell asleep and we can't wake him..." the girl told her in a sad voice.

"I see..." the knight said and returned her gaze to case.

"Lisanna are you alright?" shouted a boy with pink hair as he ran towards them both. He was quickly followed by several other children as they all gathered around the girl named Lisanna and stared at their new guest.

After she introduced herself once more a girl with brown hair quickly asked her. "Is there anything you could do to help him?"

Erza glanced at the young man in the case once more. "I am a master of the sword, I have never had a need to use any sort of magic and thus I know very little, and none of which can be used to help in this situation."

After she told them this all seven of the children looked down at the ground in defeat. Although she knew that she had her own quest she needed to finish, the though of leaving and not in the very least trying to help did not set well with her.

"If you remove this case of ice, I shall try something" she told them all.

This instantly brightened the children's face and it didn't take long for them to remove the ice from around the Prince and relieve him to the open world once more. The knight glanced at at seven little faces that were full of hope one more time before. Deciding on what to do.

She brushed her hair back to make sure her scarlet locks were not in her way and then she slowly began to bend forward. The children watched with wonder as the young women bent down closer still until her face was hovering over the Prince's. Her hair gave into gravity and fell down partially covering both of their faces from view. Inch by inch she moved ever closer until finally...

Her right armored covered fist meet the sleeping man's face in a swift and loud hit that sent him flying to the ground. All the children let out a gasp of disbelief and were prepared to exact revenge until they heard a voice they had not herd in a few days time.

"What...what is happening?" said the Prince as he sat there and rubbed the side of his face. A large mark could already be seen forming as well.

Once they realized that he had finally woken up all of the children jumped on top of him in joy. Some cried tears of joy, others laughed, and some simply smiled brightly. The knight smiled warmly as she watched this unfold in front of her. Once they all began to calm down and Gray was able to reach his feet he looked over at the scarlet haired women.

"I believe I have thy to thank for awakening me?" he asked her.

"Yes it was I" she answered.

"I see, but then why would thy believe striking me would do such a thing?" the young man asked.

"You simply looked like the suborn type of man who had to be struck to do what your told." she said truthfully.

"My mother would agree with you" the Prince said remembering a bitter sweet memory. "Who did it work I wonder'

"Well..." she began and looked at her metal covered hand. "This armor has been in my family for centuries and it is said to have powerful magics sealed with in it. Perhaps that is how. I beg your pardon but what is your name?"

"I am Gray, Prince of the Ice Kingdom" he told her confidently.

This surprised the knight for she knew that he was a royal of some shorts but not as high ranking as a Prince. "M-my apologize for addressing you so informally my lord. " she said and bowed slightly.

"Nonsense, I should be bowing to thy for saving my life" he told her and bowed slightly as well.

Once all was quite again Erza spoke to them all. "Very well, I shall be on my way, good day" she said and started to turn to leave.

"Wait I have a request to make of thy." the Prince called to her. He then spent a short while explaining his situation and what his goal was. He told her of the Queen's wrong doings and of the events that had led him to stay with the seven children.

"I apologize for asking much of thy, but I fear I will not be able to stop my Sister by using only my own power and so I ask thy for help." he explained and bowed once more.

The knight was unsure of what action to take. The Prince was from a different kingdom then her own and she already had a quest that she needed to complete. However, the direction she must take would take her near the Ice Kingdom and the strong desire burned within her to see all evil stopped.

"Very well, I shall add you in any way I can" she told him.

Then swiftly the both of them were making the necessary proportion to leave. This saddened all of the children once more but upon seeing the Prince asked them all to gather around him so he could address them.

"I must return to my homeland, but do not fear, I shall return to someday. I swear on my life and honor!" he proclaimed. This made all the children except for Natsu happier.

"You better come back pervert!" the pick haired boy yelled.

"I assure you I shall, and please do not address my as that" he said while trying to hold back his frustration as he patted Natsu's head.

"And what does the boy mean by that my lord?" Erza asked with smile on her lips.

"Nothing at all" Gray told her and so the two comrades began to leave. They waved to all the children as they started walking in the direction that would lead them to the Ice Kingdom and to the most difficult battle of the young Prince's life.

Part 8

Traveling back to the Ice Kingdom on foot would take most people five days, but luckily both the Prince and the knight were quick on their feet and on the fourth they were soon approaching the borders of his homeland. As they were making their way swiftly yup a path Erza began to speak.

"I do this of my own free will, not as a representative of my homeland. My worst fear however are that my actions my harm my kingdom's relations with yours and create a state of war between them." she explained.

"If the road I am walking on the one I believe it to be then the end resolute would be that I assume the rule of the Ice Kingdom. If we succeed thy shall have nothing to worry about." he told her.

"Then what you seek is power?" she asked a tone that told him she was questioning agreeing to help him.

"No, in fact it is the last thing that I want, but my Sister must be removed from power even if that means..." he stopped speaking as if he did not want to say the words. The young women knew what he meant to say.

"I understand" she said simply and the rest of their journey was silent until they reached the cities gates.

Knowing the surrounding area of the gate better then any living soul the Prince knew of a small entry way that lead into the city that was rarely used anymore. It was hidden by small trees next to the city's wall and it was far enough away from they would not be seen by anyone that was near by. The sun was starting to set and it made the sky turn into a mixture of red and orange that seemed to foretell of the upcoming struggle that was about to take place.

Once they entered the small passage way the Prince stopped to explain his plan as the remained in the small stone covered tunnel.

"At this hour my Sister should be in the throne room. That is where I shall face her and force her to expose her crimes to the people of the Kingdom. I will need thy to enter the castle from the right side and distract the guards to the best of your abilities. I also would that you take no lives in your effort. It will be a difficult task, all of them will be users of ice like I am. If thy do not wish to take such a risk for a Prince that does not even rule over your homeland I understand." he told her in a hushed whispering voice.

The scarlet haired women smiled. "I knew of the risk before agreeing to add you. Turning back now would not only be cowardices but foolish as well."

Gray nodded and smiled before telling her directions to the entrance she was needed to use. Once she was confident she knew the way they said their farewells and went their separate ways.

In the throne room Queen Ultear sat in silence and watched from the large windows on the sides of the room as the sun set on another day. She was alone in the room after she had told the royal guards that she wanted to be by herself and reflect on some matters at hand. The real reason was so she could rejoice in finally finding a way to insure that she would be the strongest wilder of ice for the foreseeable future. She was the only one in all of the world that knew the antidote to the poison she had given her Brother after all. So it was now his destiny to sleep until until he was no more. In the morning she would announce that the Prince had saved the kingdom from invaders but at the cost of his life. She had already started writing the words she would say at his funeral. Even as a small amount of regret creped into her heart she still smiled devilishly and tried to push all feelings of remorse away.

Then the doors of the throne room were thrown open as two unconscious guards came flying through them.

The Queen was surprised by this but her surprise grew to complete shock when she saw the Brother she thought she would never see again staring angrily at her as he walked into the room.

"H-how?" she muttered angrily.

This made the young man smile to see the usually composed ruler of this land to almost be at a loss for words. "Luck. A scarlet headed angel came my way." he said and smirked.

His cryptic response only fulled her rage, but she wasn't going to show it to him any more. The young Queen took a moment to calm herself and slowly stood up from her throne. "I see" she said softly.

They stared at each other knowing that both of them only had one course of action left to take. After a minute of silence Gray finally spoke.

"How about a training battle Sister?" he asked with a confident smirk on his face.

"Very well" Ultear responded and right as the words left her lips blades of ice shot from her hands directly at him. Gray blocked them by forming a shield and the battle to deiced the kingdom's fate had begun.

The room slowly started to be destroyed as every shape and weapon made of ice that could be imagined was being thrown back and forth. Windows shattered and walls collapsed as the two siblings tried desperately to best the other like they had many times before, but they both knew this time meant so much more.

Ultear made a spear made of ice and launched it at Gray only for him to block it with a spear of this own. Both of them were so use to the other movements and tendencies in battle that they could predict the others actions before they took place. But that didn't mean they could escape injury completely. They both started to gain cuts an bruises all over their bodies and their royal clothing was quickly be torn to pieces.

As the battle went on the Queen noticed her brother was indeed stronger then before and the mirror's proclamation of his superiority to her rang in her ears, but she was stubborn, and even as it seemed that her chances were slipping she refused to give in. She did not understand why no guards were coming to her add surly they could see or hear the destruction that was taking place.

Letting out all of his anger at his Sister for her betrayal the young Prince noticed that for the first time he was on even footing with her or perhaps his ability were beyond hers! Even so his goal was to end the battle as quickly as possible and that was what he was trying to achieve.

After barely being able to dodge his most recent attack the Queen decided to to use her must trusted tool. She took four golden pieces from a secret storage point on her dress and used them to effortlessly mold a sword made from ice. Normally any sword made of ice would break after being used a few times but with the golden braces for support the sword would remain until the ice melted.

Gray remembered that sword well. It was one of her favorite ways to defeat him when he was younger. Seeing the look of remembrance on his face and enjoying th site of it the Queen swung the weapon and he barely had time to dodge a fatal hit from it, but a large gash was left on his chest

The battle continued until the Queen herself started to notice that her energy was running low, and even though he had used the same amount of energy by now her Brother still seemed to fight with the same intensity as they both had when they began.

It was settled she had to finish it now. She swung her sword at him again and forced him to dodge then she made as much distance she could between them and began to gathered energy in her hands. As a result they started to glow blue.

"This is it Brother! I shall finally end thy life with this and I shall forever be the strongest!" she yelled as if she was on the verge of losing her sanity.

The Prince began to gather energy in his hands as well and stood on the opposite side of the room. They knew the longer a person gathered energy into their hands the stronger and harder the ice they created would become. So it had come down to this. However could gather enough energy quick enough would be the victor!

Knowing that she had started gathering energy before he did Ultear knew she wanted to launch her attack first, but she also knew she wanted to put all of the energy she had left into it to insure that she would win. The seconds felt like minutes as both siblings stared each other down until finally the queen knew she was at her limit. In a quick thrust she pushed both her hands for and a mountain like amount of ice shout out from her palms.

Less the a second later Gray did the same and a matching mountain of ice came from his hands. The large amounts of ice collide in the middle of the room and made an earth shaking sound that resembled glass shattering. The two masses of ice struggled against each other for a few seconds until they both broke apart into millions of pieces, but the ice that came from Gray had more momentum and as a result all of the shards of ice in the room where flying towards The Queen!

Seeing an opportunity the Prince rushed to the other side of the room in an attempt to catch his opponent of guard.

The Queen reached for her sword and picked it up off the ground but the seemingly millions of pieces of ice that they had been created made it impossible to see where he was coming from. She tried to guard herself but suddenly she felt a swift quick hit her in her midsection and as a result she lost her grip on her sword and it went flying in the air. Ultear hit the wall behind her and covered her eyes with her arms as the ice came at her and hit her body causing more cuts and bruises to appear. When it was done she removed her arms from her face and felt the end of a cold blade being pressed against her throat.

It was over.

She saw Gray holding her sword standing in front of her breathing heavily much like she was at the moment. His eyes were full of anger, and she could not fault him for it. This was the end for her she was again filled with angry for many reasons but her face did not change. She refused to let her last moments be ones of shame so she closed her eyes and waited for her last breath to come.

Seconds past and still nothing until finally she felt the blade leave her skin and heard the sword drop to the floor below. She slowly opened her eyes to see the Princes face full of sadness starring back at her. He almost looked like he was on the verge of tears. She looked at him in confusion, not being able to say a word, until finally he spoke with labored breath.

"In this life...I have lost a Father...and two Mothers...do you truly believe I could take the life of my own Sister?" he told her while looking into her eyes. His words, the way he said them, and the sadnesses in his voice steered something in the Ice Queen that she had been trying deny for as long as she could remember.

She loved her Brother.

She hated the fact that he had surpassed her. She hated how he was so stubborn even though she was the same way. She hated that it felt like she had to compete with him for her Mother's affection. She hated that he never once treated her like she wasn't his sister in name and in blood. Most of all she hated that after all she had done to him, he still couldn't bring himself to take her life.

For all the same reasons however, she knew that she loved him.

She couldn't stop the tears as they came nor did she want to. They came falling down her beautiful face and the Prince looked on as the women he had known to be so strong his entire life was slowly breaking down.

"B-brother...I-I'm sorry!" she stammered out as she fell forward from both exhaustion of the body and heart. He caught her and they slowly fell to the ground because he was also at the point of collapse. Gray held her as she cried and she held onto him with all the strength she had left.

"I forgive you" he said softly.

Soon after that the Erza had made her way to them. She had a few battle wounds but had remained for the most part unharmed to amazing of the Prince. Best of all there had been no loss of life. Once they rest of the Royal army arrived the entire incident was explained to them and the rebuilding began. Knowing that she was needed elsewhere Gray's first concern was for his comrade Erza to rest and receive care as soon as possible so she could be on her way. After a few days time she felt herself ready enough and was ready to leave.

"I can not thank thy enough." the Prince said as he shock her hand by the gates of the city.

"It was an honor" the knight responded.

"I'm sure fate shall have us meet in life once more" Gray continued.

"I look forward to it" she told him as she waved goodbye and set out to finished the quest she had temporarily left. That same night the Queen announced she would be addressing all of the people of the kingdom. It was said that it would be the most important address she would ever do.

At sunset the Queen was standing on the balcony that was usually used by the ruler of the land to address the people and to her right was Gray. He was indeed glad that it had ended without either of them getting the others blood on their hands. Since their conflict ended the Queen's attitude about everything seemed to change for the better and the young Prince couldn't be happier.

"People of the Ice Kingdom hear me" The Queen began and drew everyone's attention. "I have asked you all hear to apologize for not being the ruler thy deserve. My actions have shamed me and my family name. However I still believe I can do one act that is worthing of praise. At this moment I shall step down as Queen of this land and therefore make my Brother Lord Gray the rightful King!"

The crowd erupted with cheer and Gray was speechless.

Ultear motioned for Gray to walk towards her and he slowly did. Once he was in front of her she motioned for a servant that was carrying something hidden below a red cloth. The now former Queen pulled the cloth away to revile a golden crown. She placed her hands on Gray's shoulders to slowly turn him around until he was facing the crowd. Then she picked up the crown and placed it on his head.

"Thy did not need to do this..."Gray whispered to her.

"Yes I did...you deserve to rule our homeland more then I do. I know you will do our parents proud." she whispered back as she placed the crown onto his head. The crowd once again erupted into applause and the trumpets blared loudly to announce the crowning of a new ruler. Ultear would remain an advisor to the new king and the Kingdom of Ice would flourish and thrive under his rule.

And they lived happily ever after.


End file.
